Basketball News

Magic get Spaniard Vasquez, Clippers nab Russian Korolev

Jun 29, 2005, 1:21 GMT

Los Angeles - After Bogut was chosen at number 1 by Milwaukee, no other international players were picked until the Orlando Magic selected Spaniard centre Fran Vasquez with the number 11 pick.

At 6-foot-10, Vasquez is a banger who averaged 11.1 points and six rebounds for Unicaja Malaga in the Spanish Pro League. Though he has the physical presence to step in immediately, he is considered undersized as an NBA centre and may be moved to power forward.

The L.A. Clippers, picking number 12, took 18-year-old Yaraslov Korolev of Russia. The 6-foot-9 small forward averaged 16.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game for CSKA Moscow (Russia). He is long, athletic and versatile and has been compared to fellow countryman and Utah Jazz star Andrei Kirilenko.